Time to go on offense

Yates Walker

Yates Walker is a conservative activist and writer. He began his work in politics with Americans for Limited Government in 2009. As an activist, Yates helped organize Tea Parties in four congressional districts to oppose Obamacare, and he ultimately helped unseat three Democrat congressmen in 2010. He has worked in various capacities in campaigns in eight states in his effort to advance conservative causes and candidates. Yates served honorably as a paratrooper and a medic in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division. He is also a contributing writer to BigPeace.com and TheMinorityReportBlog.com. He can be reached at yateswalker@gmail.com.

For as long as anyone can remember, the Democrats have labeled Republicans as callous, selfish and greedy. They insist that Republicans don’t care about the sick and the elderly and the children and polar bears, dolphins, etc. The Republican defense usually extolled the virtues of free market solutions regarding whatever the accusation concerned. Doesn’t matter. The defense didn’t work.

Republicans must learn from their opponents. They must go on offense. They must turn the tables on the Democrats. Accuse them of robbing America’s grandchildren. Obama wants to debate in public? Fine. With every new program Obama proposes, Republican leaders need to head to elementary schools, surround themselves with children and ask the president, “Why are you stealing from these poor kids?”

Let’s see how that works out. Americans love their country and their children more than they hate the rich.

Republicans haven’t won in the past because they haven’t tried. For years now, they’ve allowed President Obama to demonize the rich. Every subject boils down to rich vs. poor. That isn’t reality! That is the direct result of Republicans believing that they are still the establishment. They cannot be reactive. They always lose on defense. To win, they must be aggressive. They must frame every debate as a battle for America’s future. Every single discussion should begin with America’s children and end with America’s children.

Freeze it. Personalize it. Polarize it.

The beautiful thing about Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” is that the rules work both ways. Alinsky admitted as much. Republicans must make the notion of new government spending treacherous. By equating new spending with breaking piggy banks and mugging America’s children, Republicans could make Barack Obama afraid to mention the word “investment.” When budgets and debt ceilings and spending negotiations begin, the only question our leaders should entertain is, “How much are we going to cut?”

In the past, Republicans failed to limit the growth of government because they didn’t know how to argue. They lost by increment for decades and stood idle while the culture changed around them. Today, by circumstance, the GOP is anti-establishment. Now Republicans must learn how to be anti-establishment. They cannot be reactive. They have no more ground to cede. They must gain ground and take scalps. They must set the terms of the debate. They must agitate. They must learn to stick it to the man. Hopefully, they’ve learned something by watching President Obama for four years.

Yates Walker is a conservative activist and writer. Before becoming involved in politics, he served honorably as a paratrooper and a medic in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. He can be reached at yateswalker@gmail.com.